Machine to roll press leather



Feb. 5, 1935. w '5 W MACHINE TO ROLL PRESS LEATHER Filed Sept. '12, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Feb. 5, 1935. SJSHAW 1,990,005

MACHINE TO ROLL PRESS LEATHER Filed Sept. 12, 1932 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 OOOGGOVRQP OQooooooooooooooo 6 v 7 H\DE f coo/00ooo ooooeoqqqqooaeoo-ooo- 4/ \\7 6 momekq Patented Feb. 5, 1935 UNITED STATE MACHINE 'ro ROLL PRESS LEATHER,

William S. Shaw, Grand Rapids, Mich. Application September 12,1932, Serial No. 632,709

" 14 Claims. (01.149-17) This invention relates to a machine toiroll-press leather and more particularly to an improved ma- I chine which is used to give a final pressing and smoothing operation in the finishing of leather.

In the art of tanning leather, and particularly sole leather, it is customary to tan the hides, cleanse them, submit them to a bleaching process and then dry them to a certain extent after which they are subjected to a treatment in a solution containing sugar, epsom salts, oils, or other suitable material for loadingthe leather with said materials and the leather is then hung up and dried. The leather is then ready for the so-called finishing process which usually consists'of wetting or dipping the same with water or with water and various compounds after which the leather is packed closely on the floor or on atruck for a period of less than a day for the purpose of causing a certain percent of wetting or dipping solution to penetrate to the center of the leather. The next step is to cover the grain sidev of the leather with heated solutionsto more thoroughly impregnate the grain of leather with preferable substances so that the final process of pressing and rolling can be accomplished with more beneficial result to the quality of a finished product.-

The present invention provides an improved device for pressing and smoothing the leather in a combined action to compress and compact the fibers of the leather and toimprove. the texture of its surfaces. 1 A

The invention provides a machine to accomplish the result in a minimum of time, the machine op crating at a comparatively low-power and being of a simple comparatively cheapconstruction and in its operation requiring a minimum of manual attention and labor. The invention provides various novel features of constructionand arrange-'- ment as hereinafter more fully described and par ticularlypointed out in the claims,reference be-I ing had to the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a side elevation with aportion in section, of a roll-press machine embodying this invention. I 1' i Fig. 2 is a transverse vertical section of thesame on the line 22 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a plan view of the bed'of showing a hide in place thereon.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional elevation of a portion of the bed and rolleiy and Fig. 5 shows the same parts as Fig. 4 in modified form. I

Like reference numbers refer to all the figures of the drawings.

1 represents the bed of the machine which is of rectangular form and may be made of concrete or of any substantial supporting construction. The bed 1 has a horizontal top whichmaybe convex transversely of the machine as shown and for the purpose hereafter described, or its .surface the machine like parts may be level if sodesired. Preferably the top surface ofthe bed is provided with a resilient covering which may be made up of laminations of which alternate layers 2 are of resilient material such as rubber between which are. interposed layers3 of sheet metal or like substance and the top layer 4 or lamination is of smooth metal such as brass.

At each side edge of the bed 1 av metallic strip 5is preferably attached for protection both to the edgeof the bed andthe edge of the laminated covering and outside of each stin 5 an angle member- 6 is attached which angle member is provided with a series of holes '7 which coact with pins 8 and equip the angle member 6 to serve in the .nature of a rackmeshing with a ear. Anchor. bolts 9 embedded in the concrete bed I serve to attach both theangle member 6 and the protecting plate 5 to the bed.

The roller of the machine is in the nature of a semiecylinder 10 which comprises an outer shell 11 having its axis extending transversely of the bed and being of a length substantially equal to the width of the bedplus the thickness of the two side plates 5 thereon. .Ifthe bed has a convex upper surface as described, the surface of the rollerjis correspondingly concaved or if the upper surface of the bedis hat the surface of the roller will be straight to conform with it. The shell 11 may be conveniently made of heavy cast iron.

At each end of the roller a semi-annular angle member 12 is attached to the shell, each bein in position to lie over arespective angle member 6 but slightly spaced therefrom when the roller is in contact-with the surface of the bed and the semi-annular angle members 12 are provided with a seriesof pins 8 extending radially from the axisof the roller and spaced apart corresponding to the spacing of the holes '7 in the angle member 6. The pins 8 enter the holes 7 and serve in the nature of gear teeth to: guide the roller in its movement over the bed.

i The roller is weighted by a weight 14 suitably attached as by lugs 15 inside of the shell 11 which weight may be of any suitable material such as lead or iron and the weight is preferably shaped so that" all, or at least a preponderance, of its weight is on the same side of the axis of the roller as is the semi-cylindrical shell 11 so that the tendency of the roller is to move by gravity to a central position longitudinally of the bed posite edges of the shell 11 and is shaped to complete the circle having an axis the same as the axis of the shell. Above the roller are located two sheaves 17 and 18 spaced apart and mounted on some overhead support, such as the ceiling of the room in which the machine is located, and a cable 19 is passed over said sheaves preferably being wrapped once or twice about the sheave 18 and its ends are crossed past each'otherpver the channel 16 and attached respectively to opposite ends of said channel member. The sheave 13 is driven by a reversible motor 20, preferably through a reduction gear within the casting 21, which drives the shaft 22 of the sheave 18.

Operation of the motor 20 to rotate the sheave 18 will move the cableto roll the roller 10 on the bed 1 and intermittent reversal of the rotation of the motor will cause the roller to rock backward and forward upon the bed and the leather to be operated upon is laid upon the surface of the bed so that the roller rolls upon it in its movement.

In the construction shown in Fig. 4 the semiannular angle members 12 overhang the plates 5 on the bed sufliciently to retain the roller against endwise movement of the bed while in the modified structure shown in Fig. 5 the semi-annular angle members 12 do not overlap the plate sufficiently that they may be depended upon for such endwise retaining action and in this structure semi-annular guide plates 23 are attached outside of the angle members 12 extending radially sufiiciently to overlap the outer edge of the angle members 5 to serve as retaining members to prevent endwise movement of the roller.

In this rolling and pressing operation it is desired to have the surface of the roller slip upon the leather during its rolling movement to produce an ironing or smoothing efiect and to accomplish this the roller is caused to move over the surface of the bed at a different speed than the rotation of its periphery by meansof the ratio of whatmay be termed the pitched radius of the gear formed by the semi-annular memhere 12 with the pins 3 thereon relative to the radius of the surface of the roller. This difference in speed of advance movement of the roller may be either greater or less than the speed of rotation of the periphery of the roller with substantially the same result and in the drawings the structure has been arranged to cause the roller to advance over the surface of the bed faster than its speed or rotation by having the pitch radius of the gear greater than the radius of the roller. If the pitch radius of the gear were less than the radius of the roller the roller would progress over the bed at a slower speed than its peripheral rotation'causing a rearward slippage during the movement. At this point it may be explained that a semi-annular gear or gear segment could be substituted for the semi-annular angle member 12 and pins 8 with a corresponding substitution for a gear rack in place of the angle members 6 with the holes '7 therein with identical operation. The present structure is shown as being cheaper to build and just as efficient in operation.

The amount of slippage of the roller on the leather during the rocking movement depends upon the degree of difference between the pitch radius of the gear and the periphery of the roller and if it is desired to have this slippage considerable the structure shown in Fig. 4 may be used wherein the angle member 12 extends radially beyond the periphery of the roller sufficiently to serve as a guide to prevent endwise movement of the roller relative to the bed. In cases where the desired slippage is comparatively little the angle member 12 can have a radius onlyslightly greater than the radius of the roller and will not project far enough to serve as a guide to prevent end- ,wise movement and therefore the guide plate 23 is added for that purpose.

I Operation To operate the device the motor 20 is actuated to cause the roller to be rocked to one end of the bed as shown by' dotted lines in Fig. 1 and the hide to be operated upon is placed upon the bed. It ispreferred to provide a piece of leather or other material 25 fixed to one end of the bed and substantially the same thickness as the leather to be operated upon for the roller to rest upon as it moves off the hide and the hide is moved closely adjacent this strip 25. At the opposite end of the bed a strip 26 is provided of the same thickness as the leather which strip 26 may be movable to be abutted against the end of the hide when it is in place for the purpose of receiving the roller when it rolls off the hide at this end. The strips 25 and 26 keep the roller elevated to the position it will assume when it is on the hide and obviate rolling upon to the edge of the hide from the level of the table at each end of the rolling operation.

The motor is then set into operation to cause the roller to rock back and forth against the bed and upon the leather placed thereon, being caused to reverse its movement at the end of each rocking movement of the roller by any suitable control means either manually or automatically operated and this rocking movement of the roller upon the leather is continued for a time, or for a sufficient number of strokes, to produce the desired finishing result. roller, it is to be remembered that the weight 14 is so proportioned and located that it resists movement of the roller in either direction from central position and this effort of the weight is utilized at each end of the rocking movement to aid in overcoming the momentum of the roller and to assist in imparting return movement thereto which materially aids in the action of the motor and other moving mechanism.

During the rocking movement of the roller it serves to compact the fibers therein and it also has the ironing effect upon the surface of the leather caused by the slipping movement of the roller upon the leather as heretofore described which slipping or ironing movement smooths the surfaceof the leather andgives it a glossy finish. The leather is moved by rocking the roller to one end of the-bed sufficiently to be removed from the hide and rest upon the surface of the bed.

The control of the motor to intermittently re- 3-.

verse its rotation at the end of each movement of the roller may be done by any suitable manual or automatic means not specifically shown. If an automatic reversing switch is used it can be automatically operated by movement of the roller or the cable 19 and in addition a counter be applied which will stop the operation of the device after the roller has made a predetermined number of movements and with such an arrangement one operator may control several machines by starting one of them into automatic operation and while it is operating to attend to others which require removal of the finished piece of leather and the insertion of another piece to be operated upon.

In the rocking movement of the As previously stated, the surface of the bed may be fiat and the surface of the roller shaped cylindrical to conform to it or, if desired, the bed may be convex transversely thereof and the roller correspondingly concaved. The latter formation is for the purpose of pressing the hide when wet into a concaved shape with the grain surface up which curvature extends in a direction which would be annularly of the body of the animal from which the hide was taken. It is to be remembered that the upper or grain surface of the hide contains more moisture than the other side and that in drying the said grain surface will shrink more than the underside causing the hide when dried to assume a fiat shape. It is also conceived that the convex surface of the bed and concave face of the roller may be reversed making the surface of the bed concave and the face of the roller convex. This reversal of shapes may be useful when it is desired to rollpress the hide with the grain side down and the flesh side up in which operation the grain side will retain more moisture than the flesh side and the grain side of the hide, when finished will be convex and, when dried the hide will tend to assume a fiat shape. It is intended that either convex or concaveshape of the bed or roller shall be considered as equivalents and that the specification of one form in the claims shall be considered of sufficient scope to include the other.

The invention is defined in the appended claims and is to be considered comprehensive of all forms of structure coming within the scope thereof.

I claim:

1. A device of the class described comprising, a bed having a substantially horizontal surface adapted to: receive a hide, a roller located in a position to be rolled upon said bed and a hide thereon, a weight positioned in said roller in a manner to cause the roller to assume a normal location substantially centrally of said bed and to resist rolling of said roller in either direction from said central position and. means for alternately rolling said roller in oppositedirections upon said bed and said hide thereon.

2. A device of the class described comprising, a bed having a substantially horizontal surface adapted to receive a hide, a roller having a half cylindrical periphery of a length appreciably greater than the length of a hide to be operated upon, a weight located in said roller in position to cause it to assume a normal position substantially centrally of said bed and to resist rocking movement of the roller in either direction from said central position and means to alternately rock said roller in opposite directions upon said bed and a hide thereon.

3. A device of the class described comprising, a bed having a substantially horizontal surface adapted to receive a hide, a roller located in position to be rolled upon said bed and on a hide placed thereon, and means for rolling said roller alternately in opposite directions upon said bed and said hide, said bed being convex in a direction parallel to the axis of said roller and the surface of said roller being correspondingly concave.

4. The elements in combination defined in claim 1, in which said bed is convex in a direction parallel to the axis of said roller and the surface of said roller is correspondingly concave.

5. The elements in combination defined in claim 2, in which said bed is convex in a direction parallel to the axis of said roller and the surface of said roller is correspondingly concave.

6. A device of the class described comprising, a bed having a substantially horizontal surface adapted to receive a hide, a roller located in position to be rolled upon said bed and on a hide placed thereon, and means for rolling said roller alternately in opposite directions upon said bed and said hide, said bed having a resilient horizontal surface composed of alternate laminations of readily deformable resilient material and sheet metal.

7. The elements in combination defined in claim 1 in which said bed has a resilient horizontal surface composed of alternate laminations of readily deform-able resilient material and sheet metal.

8. A device of the class described comprising, a bed having a substantially horizontal surface adapted to receive a hide, a roller located to roll over said surface and a hide thereon, a gear attached to said roller having a different length radius than the radius of the periphery of the roller and a rack attached to said bed in a position to mesh with said gear.

9. A device of the class described comprising, a bed having a substantially horizontal surface adapted to receive a hide, a roller located to roll over said surface and a hide thereon, a gear attached to said roller having a greater length radius than the radius of the periphery of the roller and a rack attached to said bed in a position to mesh with said gear.

10. A device of the class described comprising, a bed having a substantially horizontal surface adapted to receive a hide, a. roller located to roll on said surface, and on a hide thereon, and means to cause said roller to advance over said surface at a different speed than the speed of rotation of its periphery, said surface of the bed being convex in a direction parallel to the axis of said roller and the surface of said roller being correspondingly concave.

11. A device of the class described comprising, a bed having a substantially horizontal surface adapted to receive a hide, a roller located to roll on said surface and on a hide thereon, and means to cause said roller to advance over said surface at a faster speed than the speed of rotation of its periphery, said surface of the bed being convex in a direction parallel to the axis of said roller and the surface of said roller being correspondingly concave.

12. The elements in combination defined in claim 8, in which said surface of the bed is convex in a direction parallel to the axis of said roller and the surface of said roller is correspondingly concave.

13. The elements in combination defined in claim 9, in which said surface of the bed is convex in a direction parallel to the axis of said roller and the surface of said roller is correspondingly concave.

14. A device of the class described comprising, a bed having a substantially horizontal surface and adapted to receive a hide, a roller located in position to be rolled upon said bed and a hide thereon, means acting to cause the roller to tend to move to a normal location substantially centrally of said bed and to resist rolling of said roller in either direction from said central location and means for alternately rolling said roller in opposite directions upon said bed and said hide thereon.

WILLIAM S. SHAW. 

